INTRODUCTION
The light of God never grows dim. It is the light that has shone to the world and into the darkness of men’s lives. Christ is that light. Today Jesus begins his public preaching of the Word. Base on this, the Holy Father on September 30, 2019 in his Apostolic Letter issued in the form of Motu Proprio “Aperuit illis” dedicated the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as a day to celebrate the Word of God in a special way. Let us savour the sweet taste of the Word as of the Eucharist.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 9: 1-4
The prophet Isaiah spoke of Zebulun and Naphtali. Yes, they were among the Twelve sons of Jacob. Zebulun and Naphtali occupied western and northern territories of the Sea of Galilee. And because of their locations, they were always the first to feel the brunt of an attack from any invading force. In fact, when Tiglat-Pileser the king of Assyria destroyed the kingdom of the north (Israel) around 735 BC, Zebulun and Naphtali were the first tribal lands to fall into his hands. And much later the Roman army would occupy the territory. However the Land of Zebulun and Naphtali include the towns of Nazareth and Capernaum. When the Assyrians invaded them, they forced them into intermarriage. This will give rise to the Samaritans of the time of Jesus considered by the Jews of the southern kingdom Judah as impure race; a mixed blood. All these moments of external inversions are considered to be moments of darkness and of despair.
But today, Isaiah declares that God’s power is greater than the powers of darkness. He assures the inhabitants that though they may have been in darkness but the Lord is sending them “a great light” that will lead them into “abundant joy.” This prophesy will be fulfilled by Jesus who is “the great light” that leads the people of God out of the land of doom and darkness. Through the power of his death and Resurrection, He guaranteed humanity that darkness can never have the final word. He is the fulfilment of the word of Isaiah that: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light…”
SECOND READING: I Corinthians1:10-13, 17
In the community of Corinth at the time Paul wrote this letter, there were internal fractions. Believers were adhering to the teaching of one apostle or the other; Peter, Paul, Apollos, to the point that they lost the focus in the person of Jesus. They celebrated the instruments of the Gospel (the apostles) instead of the Gospel (Jesus). Paul found this misunderstanding of the content of the faith and consequently the division it generated as uncalled for among the believers. For him, it was a good sign that they were not living in the light of Christ. They were still walking in darkness like the inhabitants of Zebulun and Naphtali needing indeed the true light of Christ to illuminate them. That is why he brought their focus back to Jesus when he said: “Is Christ divided?” Was Paul (Peter, Apollos) crucified for you?”
GOSPEL: Matthew 4:12-23
Jesus began his public ministry from Galilee, precisely in Nazareth and Capernaum in the territory of Zebulon and Naphtali. Galilee was a small region but Matthew making reference to the prophesy of Isaiah calls it the “Galilee of the Gentiles.” This is because it was an area with a large number of Hellenistic pagans mixed in with the Jews right from the days of Assyrian invasion (about 732 BC).
Hence, by placing Jesus’ first public ministry in Galilee, Matthew affirms that the prophesy of Isaiah has been fulfilled because Jesus is that light that has shone in their darkness.
Yes, he did not appear as an imaginary light but he brought a Good News which is an invitation to repentance. He offered them the kingdom of God and called them to discipleship.Thus, for Matthew the acceptance of Jesus is the only way to come of their life-long darkness.
Matthew combined this first step of Jesus into Galilee with the call of his first disciples. They all responded by leaving their nets and even their father in the case of the sons of Zebedee. This is simple; one who has truly met Jesus “does not need anything else” because in him is the abundance of everything.
LIFE MESSAGE
JESUS INVITES US TO REPENTANCE
The Greek word for repent is ‘metanoia,’ which implies a radical change in one’s thinking. It means looking at life in a completely new way. It is only when we begin to make this radical change that we begin to become part of that Kingdom and God starts ruling our lives. When we humbly come before God and tell him, “I am weak; I can’t help myself; I need you my God,” then we have accepted to lose ourselves to God. In other words, we are inviting God to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves that is, to raise our dead self and to change and re-create us.
Today, Jesus the light shines in “our Galilee of darkness.” Can we just allow him into our lives?
HE CALLS US INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Christ simply says he is the visible kingdom of God. To believe in him is to be in the kingdom. Thus the kingdom of God is when the will of God is established on earth and when the world becomes the way God wants it to be. We don’t have to think that the type of life we live here is different from the one we will live after. It begins from here. Thus, our life here must be a foreshadow of the life we will live thereafter and not a contradiction to it.
WE ARE FISHERS OF MEN
In the ancient world, fishing was a metaphor for two distinct activities: judgment and teaching. That is the new job Jesus found for Peter, Andrew, James, John and to all of us. It is the job for every believer. We must ask ourselves: how many fish have we been able to catch for God. How many of our brothers and sisters are still drowning in the waters of our world right before our eyes? Where have we left the new net Jesus handed to us; the Gospel? Yes many are drowning in water.
WATER’ is a symbol of life as well as a symbol of destruction as conceived in the ancient world. In this case Jesus calls us to drag people out from the water of this world where they are drowning in sin.
WE ARE MEANT TO BE IN GOD’S NET?
Jesus is the chief Fisher of men and we are the fish dragged out of the water in his net. When fish leaves water it dies after few hours. Yes we must allow Jesus to drag us out of the water of this world where we are swimming in sin so as to die to self and receive a new life that he gives us through his resurrection. He gives us a new life, a new family, a new future free of fear because all will be under God’s control and within the Kingdom of Heaven (that is the meaning of the net of Jesus).
We must acknowledge that we have very little control over our own lives, but as fish caught in the net of God’s love, we can trust that we are under God’s control. We have to believe that being captured by God’s love and being raised to a new life by Him in Jesus nothing will take us out of His net. St Paul captures this message very well when he says: “Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ — can hardships or distress, or persecution, or lack of food and clothing, or threats or violence. No; we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who loved us” (Romans 8: 35.37).
WE TOO MUST BE LIGHT THAT SHINES IN THE “GALILEE OF ALL NATIONS”
We all received his light on the day we were baptized. It is not meant for fancy. It is not to be monopolized. It is the light to be shared in the darkness of the people of our time. Our families, our countries and world need light. Let us not hesitate to introduce this light of Christ into the darkness of prejudice, wars, abuses, social injustices and disparities, hunger, poverty, ignorance, greed, anger, vengeance, violent revolutions and apathy that characterize our days. The light of God in us is capable of breaking yokes. It is bright enough to show the way. It warms hearts that are cold in sin. It clears doubts and fears. Above all, it is a light of salvation. Let us spread it into “the Galilee of all nations.”
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we have stumbled so much because our path has been so dark. We humbly implore you to take us by the hand and walk with us on the path that leads to life. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
